Ukraine downs 21 Shaheds with truck-launched Hellfires

Ukraine has fielded 21 Shahed drones from trucks armed with Hellfire missiles during a single month in January, using the vehicle-launched American weapons for air defense.

The number comes from soldiers' accounts of January engagements reported by Ukrainska Pravda. Yurii Ihnat, head of the communications department of the Air Force Command, described the vehicle-mounted missile launchers in an interview on the RBC-Ukraine podcast TSE BAZA.

Ihnat said the defense forces select equipment by location. "We have different systems, the FrankenSAM systems and there are vehicles with laser-guided Hellfire missiles," he said. He did not identify which vehicles Ukraine uses, how many it has, or which missile variants are fitted.

Ukraine previously fielded American Tempest mobile air defense systems carrying two AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles each. Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer, states that Hellfire II missiles use semi-active laser homing and can be launched from helicopters, aircraft, ground vehicles and vessels. The AGM-114 family is designed to strike armored vehicles, air defense systems and patrol boats.

Ihnat said aviation operates where ground-based air defense is switched off, to keep Ukrainian aircraft from being engaged by their own systems. Near cities and specific infrastructure sites, teams carry man-portable air defense systems, he said. Electronic warfare gear also jams Russian assets that lack adequate antennas, Ihnat said, and Ukrainian forces have downed drones with assault rifles on rare occasions.

No further deployment schedule or timeline for additional vehicle-mounted systems was announced. Ihnat said each asset is deployed where it is most effective.